Intercom
by The Red Celt
Summary: You know how Tali flirts with Garrus over the intercom even if he's already with Shepard? This is my take on what was happening on the other end, and how Garrus has to let the poor quarian down easy. Rated M because of the entire beginning.


_AN-Thanks to Lady Aleynia who asked me to fill this prompt! Hope you like it. :)_

* * *

Ever since returning from Menae, Shepard had made the main battery her unofficial office, setting up camp more often than not on the stacked crates that stood against the wall. She'd claimed that it was because the humming of the engines here was more muted than in the rest of the ship, but in reality it was Garrus' quiet presence, his unerring concentration on his work and the fact that the whole place smelled like him that made the battery feel more like home than her own cabin. They spent most of their time working these days, stealing the occasional furtive glance over a datapad and locking eyes for a moment before going back to the grindstone. Garrus had grown into a strong leader over the years and she bounced ideas off him all the time now, his quick mind and lifetime of military strategy expertise proving to be incredibly useful now when they needed it most. He'd been right when he'd said that turian and human ideas of victory were very different; he could make the tough calls that she balked at because where she wanted to save as many lives as she could, he saw the advantages in sacrifice. It was like playing the biggest game of chess in the universe where every piece represented millions of lives and the responsibility was staggering, but at least she didn't have to bear it alone.

The comfort he offered during the night cycle, the two of them tangled up in blankets on his cot while everyone else slept, was yet another good reason to spend most of her time down here. He'd been very happy to have her in his bed, such as it was, after six months' separation and wasted no time showing her just how much he'd missed her. The muscles low in her stomach fluttered as she recalled that first night, alone finally in the dimmed lights with nothing to distract them from each other. His need to be as close to her as possible had been translated in every touch and taste of her heated skin and she'd drawn from him soft moans and gasps and repetitions of her name with her body as she moved over him. Being with him was like finding the missing part of herself, and neither could doubt anymore that they worked so much better together than apart. It had the added effect of giving her something much more close and real to fight for—she had him to come home to, and that made it all worth it for her.

Today, they'd scored a victory that put a fire in everyone's veins and the hope—of a desperate variety, but there nonetheless—was a nearly tangible thing as Shepard made her way through the CIC. After hundreds of years of war, the geth and quarians were sharing Rannoch again and, to top it all off, they'd brought down a Reaper. Its howling synthetic scream had sounded pained and panicked, and Shepard smiled a little at the memory. That had been damned satisfying. Also, the Reaper had let it slip that Harbinger had made her name famous among the Reapers by gunning for her personally and then losing in spectacular fashion. She wasn't sure what to think about being famous among their enemies as well as their allies, but Garrus said that being known as the leader of the resistance could be a good thing.

"Think about it; tales of your exploits being passed down like bedtime stories," he'd said, standing at his console, his fingers flying over the display. "You're like the Reaper's boogeyman."

"I'm surprised you know what the boogeyman is," she remarked, and he chuckled.

"My 'research' wasn't all limited to finding new ways to make you come, you know," he said. She couldn't stop a shiver from coursing through her body at that, and from the look on his face he'd seen it, too. "I looked up other stuff, too."

"Yeah? You spend a lot of time reading children's bedtime stories?" she asked, and he turned back to the console, his mandibles flicking slightly.

"Yeah. Never know if I might need to know some. You know, in the future." It was the first time he'd ever alluded to the possibility of children, and he seemed nervous as he waited for her reaction. Shepard put aside the reports she'd been reading and went over to stand beside him, slipping an arm around his waist. He hummed and stroked her fingers where they rested on his hip.

"I could teach you some, if you want," she said, and he nuzzled her hair as he drew her closer, pulling her in against his armored chest. She tilted her head up and her knees went weak at the tender look in his eyes; she'd never been one for romantic sentiments, but he tended to bring that out in her. Strange that it took being with an alien to make her feel more human. Just before she could close the distance between them with a kiss, the comm crackled to life and they both jumped, startled.

"Garrus, you there?" Tali's voice was tinny in the speakers overhead, and Shepard gave him a rueful smile. She squeezed his hand and whispered in his ear, "Later," her lips just brushing the skin there.

"I'm here, Tali," he replied, and tightened his grip on her waist when she tried to retreat.

"Do you have a minute to talk?"

His hands drifted southward to the waistband of her pants and the tips of his talons dipped down past it to toy with the edge of her underwear. Garrus didn't have much of an adventurous streak in the bedroom, preferring to keep things private, so this came as an unexpected surprise. Evidently, the lightened mood after their recent win had gotten his blood up, too. "Sure thing," he said, smiling at the way Shepard's eyelids fluttered shut as he shoved his hands into her pants and gripped her ass.

"Do you ever feel awkward, being the only turian on the ship?" Tali asked.

"I don't know." He walked her around until she was pressed up against his console, and she fumbled around to lock the keyboard as he lifted her up onto the cool metal surface. "Should I?"

"I just mean, not having anyone else like you around." Shepard had wondered the same thing, actually, and wanted to hear his response. Not as much as she wanted him to keep touching her though, she thought as he worked the tight uniform shirt up her back to the clasps of her bra. He'd gotten quite adept at undoing the hooks himself over the past few weeks.

"Hmmm, doesn't seem to bother Liara," he hedged.

"But she can eat their food."

"We've got food," he retorted, having freed her from the confines of her bra. He tossed it aside and lowered his head to lick along the curve of her breast and she had to bite down on her hand to keep from making any noise. She'd never been into voyeurism before—or, she didn't think she was, but knowing that they were just one sound away from being found out was really doing it for her, making everything he was doing to her just that much better.

"If you can call it that," Tali said, and the tone of her voice told them just what she thought of the dextro food.

"It's not _that_ bad," he said just before dragging his tongue down to circle her bellybutton, his talons scratching lightly over her legs. It wasn't fair that he was still in full armor while she was half-naked, but he kept swatting her hand away every time she tried to take it off of him. Meanwhile, his mouth was distracting the hell out of her, nipping at her skin through her pants.

"Maybe we could team up and get Shepard to order something other than nutrient paste."

"I'll be sure to tell her," he said with a wink.

"Maybe the two of us together could get better results," Tali said, and there was something about the way she said it that made Shepard pause. Her hesitation didn't last long before Garrus reached up to stroke her cheek, then covered her mouth with one hand while making the universal "shush" sign with the other. She nodded, her skin flushed and hot and tingling. He went down on his knees in front of her and put her legs over his shoulders. There was something so indescribably sexy about seeing him so intent on her body, laying aside his visor absently as he laid a kiss on the inside of her knee. She started to unzip her pants, but he stopped her.

"Yeah, maybe." He wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying anymore, not with Shepard laid out before him like this. Even mostly clothed, she was a sight to behold from this angle, her heated gaze sending a jolt straight to his groin.

Tali was quiet for a few moments, muttering to herself as she clacked away at her keyboard. "What was your toughest mission?" she asked. Shepard considered hanging up on her so she could let out all the sounds she was biting down on, but Garrus seemed to know what she was planning and pinned her hands to the edge of the console where she was gripping it with white knuckles.

"Horizon," he answered without any hesitation. She knew for a fact that there had been tougher ones but he obviously wasn't willing to put any thought into it right now. His breath was hot where it flowed against the exposed skin of her abdomen, teasing across her skin. One hand left hers just long enough to press his palm against her groin and her head fell back, her lips parted in a silent moan. Her legs shook in anticipation and she scooted down a little further toward him, begging him with her body to touch her, to alleviate the ache that had settled in her core, but he was relentless in his teasing.

"No fair! I hadn't joined up with you yet." Tali's voice had taken on a more girlish, playful tone.

"Fine. The dead Reaper, then." He sounded a little impatient, and Shepard smiled at the slip—evidently he was just as turned on as she was and wanted to shut down the comm, too, but they'd taken the game this far already; it wasn't like him to give up, and he was on a mission to drive her crazy. Which was working, damn him. She wrapped her legs around his cowl, but still he held out on her.

"Really? The husks just ran up to us."

Garrus sat back, unlatching his armor, and Shepard nearly groaned in approval. _Finally._ "Have you ever noticed that I carry a sniper rifle? You're the one who likes things at short range." Shepard reached out to stroke his fringe and her long, agile fingers found that spot he liked and this time it was his turn to bite back a moan, his eyes rolling up in his head.

"And you prefer to keep everything at a distance," Tali said, the disappointment thick in her voice, and Shepard stopped what she was doing. Garrus looked up at her with an arched eyebrow plate, but she just shook her head. He set his chest plate aside and stood up to meet her eyes, which had darkened a bit. _What was that all about?_ she wondered. _It sounds almost like she's-_

"Creepiest thing we fought?"

"The Thorian. Your turn." She turned her head aside, trying to figure out if she was right about what she'd heard, but Garrus gently turned her face back to his, searching for what was bothering her as if it were written on her features.

"The rachni."

"The queen?" He started to back up a little to give her space, but she held him close. It was nothing, it had been her imagination. She pulled him down and nuzzled his neck, and the scent of him along with the warmth of his bared upper body began to drive those thoughts out of her head.

"No, the little ones. They look like spiders and they scuttle right toward you."

"I thought you liked it when things got up close and personal," he said, more directed to Shepard than Tali, and damn if it didn't sound sexy as all hell. She didn't have time to wonder how that must have sounded to Tali before she retorted:

"I guess it depends on who it is." The suggestive tone told Shepard that no, she hadn't been imagining it: Tali was getting flirty with her man. She abruptly cut off the comm, and Garrus looked at her, confusion all over his face.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"It's . . . nothing. Not important."

"That doesn't look like 'nothing'," he said, stroking the little frown lines between her eyebrows.

"Does Tali call up here often?"

"Not really. You're here almost as much as I am, you'd have noticed if she was. Why?"

"Because I'm pretty sure she was just flirting with you." It sounded so stupid saying it aloud and she chastised herself. It wasn't as though they'd made their relationship publicly obvious; on the battlefield and in front of the crew, they were the very image of professionalism. The time she spent in the battery could be chalked up to wanting to spend time with her best friend, which was true in a sense, and even though the rumor mill ran rampant with speculation, they'd given no outward indication of their feelings for each other.

"Shepard, you know that I'd never act on it," he said.

"No, I know. I trust you." And she really did, so why was she worrying? _A good point,_ she thought, and pulled him down for a kiss which he returned with the thorough attention to detail that she loved about him. "I can't blame her, though. You are a devilishly handsome turian."

"Don't I know it," he drawled, relieved that she wasn't like the human women on some of the vids he'd seen who seemed to enjoy cultivating petty jealousies. "I'm so good-looking I should really hire a bodyguard or something to keep all the other ladies away." She laughed as he attacked her neck with kisses, bending her back over the console like Scarlet O'Hara before meeting her gaze again. "I'll talk to her."

"You don't have to."

"No, but she should know about us anyway. She _is_ going to be in the wedding party, after all."

"All right. If you're sure."

He cupped her cheek and touched his forehead to hers with a sigh. "You're about the only thing I'm sure of these days." His other hand wandered back to her breast and she arched into his touch. "Now, where were we . . ."

* * *

Shepard was in the war room when Tali came into the battery, her fingers knotting together anxiously.

"Garrus, you wanted to talk?" she said, coming to lean against the guns. He stepped away from the console and rubbed the back of his neck. He was really no good at talks like this, but the situation had to be handled.

"Yeah. About yesterday . . . were you, ah, flirting with me?"

Tali lowered her head and giggled nervously. "I wasn't sure if you'd pick up on it."

"Actually, I didn't. Shepard did."

"She was in here? I didn't hear her." She looked away in embarrassment.

"We didn't want anyone to suspect that . . . well, she and I have been together since the Collector mission." That wasn't entirely true, though—their feelings for each other had been developing ever since she'd come down to watch him work on the Mako at all hours of the night on the first Normandy. It was the physical aspect of their relationship that had begun flourishing lately, but his heart had belonged to her for much longer.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. And in the moment it took her to collect her thoughts, she realized how obvious it should have been even with the precautions they took. The two of them were practically inseparable, even more so than before, and the looks they gave each other sometimes . . . "Keelah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean—I had no idea, Garrus. I hope she's not mad at me."

"She isn't. I just wanted to let you know so you didn't think that I was, um, leading you on."

"Thanks, Garrus." She grinned suddenly and lightly shoved his shoulder. "So, you and Shepard."

"Yeah," he said, fidgeting with his collar.

"I'm happy for you two. Really. If I can't have you, then I guess she'll do." She clutched her chest and sighed dramatically. Garrus laughed, relieved that the tension had dissipated. "Seriously, though, you two are my best friends. It's nice to see you happy."

"I appreciate that, Tali."

"As long as I'm invited to the wedding, and you let your kids call me 'Auntie Tali.'"

"I think we can work that out."

She left a little while later to head back to engineering, somewhat disappointed but glad that there was still time for love in the middle of this war. By the time the elevator had made it all the way down to her level, her omnitool was glowing on her wrist and a quarian in a red helmet was there on vid call.

"Hey, Reegar. Have a minute to talk?"


End file.
